News

CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc. has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved two phase 3 clinical trials of Col-101, a once-daily, modified-released formulation of doxycycline, 40 mg, for treatment of rosacea.

Grow, preserve wealth while reducing risk, improving performance

Regardless of any potential changes that impact saving for a college education, the key to success is the ability to start saving as early as possible and commit the necessary funds to meet your savings goal.

National report - An anti-acne gel containing both clindamycin and tretinoin is safe, well-tolerated, and more effective than either agent alone, according to results of phase 3 trials including more than 2,200 patients.

I'm sure that if a hundred dermatologists were asked to compile a list of the 10 most important innovations in dermatologic drugs and devices that have occurred over the past 15 years, the lists would be remarkably similar.

Antigenics Inc. has announced its experimental cancer vaccine Oncophage improved post-surgery results for patients with metastatic melanoma, with one of 18 patients remaining disease-free for almost 15 months.

Point Therapeutics Inc. has initiated a phase 2 clinical trial of the company's lead therapeutic compound, talabostat (PT-100), for treatment of advanced metastatic melanoma.

A new kind of drug, a Raf kinase inhibitor, is well-tolerated and may prove effective in treating patients with metastatic melanoma, according to researchers from the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania.

Transmitted by monkeys,mosquitoes, infections make their way from Africa; dengue, West Nile spread in United States

Washington - The VISIA Complexion Analysis System brings objectivity to a subjective world, says Eliot Battle, M.D.

Indianapolis -A study has found that type 2 diabetes patients who take insulin have a decreased incidence of non-melanoma skin cancer.

New Orleans - Oblimersen sodium (Genasense), the antisense agent under investigation for advanced malignant melanoma, improved progression-free survival but not overall survival, in a recent phase III trial, Michael J. Millward, M.D. reported here at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

No downtime and no injury to skin surface, physician says

Dallas - With updated laser safety standards on the way, it's not enough to simply don the goggles and hang the manufacturer-supplied safety sign, Penny J. Smalley, R.N., said here at the annual meeting of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery.

But side effects cause concern; more study needed

Orlando - Dermatologists, like other medical doctors, are turning more and more to office personnel to help with treatment-oriented tasks. The trick is to know what can be delegated - and what guidelines to follow to ensure that the delegation is both safe and appropriate.

An agent with good coverage against staphylococci and streptococci will eradicate the vast majority of typical cellulitis cases.

Maxim Pharmaceuticals has announced that advanced metastatic melanoma patients treated with a combination of Ceplene and Interleukin-2 (IL-2) showed improved survival rates in a phase 3 trial, according to a Business Wire report.

A breakthrough vaccine against herpes simplex protected women but not men.

Knowing which therapy to use when is the key to achieving best outcomes

Fungal treatment decision can be based on agent, individual patient

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that annual hospitalizations surpass 100,000 and outpatient treatment likely is several-fold higher.

Debate over the need for absolute sun protection - the mantra of the AAD - is moving farther into the public arena this summer, with a long-time researcher advocating limited, unprotected exposure, and the AAD still firmly warning against it.

Supplemental inositol significantly improved symptoms in patients with psoriasis during lithium treatment, according to the results of a small, randomized, placebo-controlled trial published in the May issue of the British Journal of Dermatology.

Washington - Lasers can offer a safe and effective alternative for the treatment of chronic, stable plaque psoriasis in patients whose disease is mild-to-moderate in severity and involves 10 to 20 percent of the body surface area, said Christine C. Dierickx, M.D., at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology here. Dr. Dierickx, director, Boom Laser Clinic, Boom, Belgium, and visiting scientist, Harvard Medical School, Boston, described the roles of lesion-directed, high intensity UVB phototherapy using various lasers and light sources as well as pulsed dye laser treatment that clears psoriatic plaques by targeting the microvasculature.

The industry side of the laser medicine field has heated up, too.

Tigecycline appears to effectively eradicate complicated skin and skin structure infections, according to a new study.

'Corneotherapy' unveiled as possible new directive for stratum corneum

Miami - Pivotal trial results show that treatment with a cryopreserved, bilayered cellular matrix (OrCel, Ortec International) promotes healing of refractory venous leg ulcers, especially those of dermal depth, says Robert S. Kirsner, M.D.

Stratum corneum's continual formation remains focus of study